


adagio

by starsun



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, This is kinda like a 5+1 but also not at all, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21800950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsun/pseuds/starsun
Summary: “D-Do you want to dance, Fe?”"We should. Maybe it will cheer you up!"“Remember I taught you, before? It’s not the same but cooperate with me a little.”“Ha. I'm going to prove to you, right now, just who the best dancer between us is.”“Felix… Could you give me the pleasure of dancing with you one last time… please?"Felix and Dimitri's lives, along with important events, seem to always be marked with them dancing with each other. It's bittersweet.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33
Collections: Bread Eaters





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I LITERALLY WROTE THIS AGES AGO but anyway I'm posting it so I get encouraged to write and finish the rest of it. I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> and haha why is felix so hard to write.

The carriage ride feels like it has lasted more than it should have. 

Logically, he knew that wasn’t possible, the scenario moved around at a decent pace, the path they had taken was the same, and his father had told him around five times already that they had left at the perfect time, that he, as a duke, wasn’t the type of person to risk being even a minute behind schedule. But still...

He was going to be late. 

Felix hated being late. 

Their ride shook and hands settled on his shoulders almost immediately. They kept him from bumping his head against the roof and then the same hands pushed him back down until he was sitting properly. Now he couldn’t see the window properly.

The glare that he turned to give to the culprit only made the same person, his brother, let out a laugh. “Eli, you dumbass.” His father’s gaze snaps upwards to look at the older of his children as soon as the word reaches his ears, but Felix can see Glenn paying no attention. “You know peeking at the window and jumping on the seat won’t make us get there faster. Remember the last time you did that and you hit your head? How much you cried? We’ll be there soon, so settle down, rascal.” 

“You don’t know that, you dum dum! Dimi told me to be early so we could spend some time together and I won’t be there!” Felix can’t believe that his brother can’t understand this matter is of utmost urgency. He’s five years old and even he can get that! Then again, older people were also supposed to be dumb because their minds turned to dust. Dear goddess, it was certainly a good idea to explain.

But… He wants to cry, what if Dimi ends up thinking he abandoned him? Worse, what if he’s becoming best friends with  _ Sylvain _ right now? That can’t happen. And just like that, his eyes start to blur and it takes him so much effort to breathe properly, it’s awful. 

“Eli? Oh, no. Come on, please don’t cry. Dimitri is probably waiting at the gates for you, and he’ll get upset if he sees you like this! Like the one time you went to cry to him instead of that redhead because I was teasing you? And he didn’t talk to me for days?” Glenn’s arms are around him just seconds after the first tear rolls down his cheek, and Felix can’t help but hide his face in his chest. 

He doesn’t say anything, simply lets himself be comforted. Glenn does his best attempt to rub his back, although he still thinks it’s very shitty. (That’s a word that he heard his uncle Theo mention once, and that his father has said many times. It meant something like ‘poopy’). 

The carriage slows down until it stops, and Felix is going to cry harder because he can’t believe that he’s going to be even more late than ever and Dimitri— before the thing moves again and his brother shakes him by his shoulders, and suddenly all he can see is the guy’s grin. “Felix, we’re at the gates already! It’s okay, brat. You’re not late.”

“F-for real?” The child can’t help but ask, and then he’s squirming away from Glenn so that he can go back to his spot and see it for himself. His brother will literally say anything at some points to get him to calm down. And yet even through a blurry view, the gates from the castle are recognizable, as well as the child peering down from a balcony. 

Dimitri jumps when he realizes who is inside and then smiles, waving his hand from side to side. Felix hurries to wipe his tears away before he does the same. They stay like that until the prince stops and runs back inside, he’s probably going to sprint all the way down to the courtyard. 

The boy isn’t embarrassed to admit that as soon as his father gets him down from the carriage he starts running too, leaving the old man’s warnings and his brother’s laughter behind. He runs across the gravel, jumps over and few flowers when he gets to the garden and then he has to avoid a few maids once he takes the kitchen shortcut. He can’t claim that he knows the place better than those who have to go around and around everyday, but he does know how to get to the courtyard easier than most. 

He doesn’t expect his face to hit something solid right when he gets there, and so he falls right in his bum. The thing — person, actually, he can hear them groan — probably isn’t better off. It isn’t until he opens his eyes that he realizes who exactly collided with him, and the sight brings a giggle out of him. 

The crown prince of Faerghus opens his eyes, and Felix can’t help it, he laughs harder. The blond looks so confused! His hair is such a mess, too. Goddess, it probably looks as messy as the hay hair that one scarecrow Sylvain flirted with had. Laughter must be contagious, for his friend starts laughing as well, until they’re both wheezing and panting for air.

He stares at Dimitri all the while, and the other kid does the same. The later is the one who regains the ability to breathe first, and the one to break their pseudo silence. “Fe! I didn’t expect to bump into you like this… I’m so glad you’re here already, though!”

Without waiting for a reply, the prince stands up and makes sure Felix does the same by pulling him to his feet. Tiny arms wrap around him, just like moments before, but this time the raven only lets out a laugh and hugs his best friend back. He isn’t upset, and Dimi doesn’t need to know he had cried before, he would worry over something so stupid.

“I missed you too, Dimi.” He says and his chest fills with warmth when he hears the giggle that bursts out of Dimitri’s lips. He has always been oddly proud of being one of the few people that can get the prince to laugh so genuinely. 

The only response he gets from the blond is his grip tightening on him. Not too much, never too much, Dimitri has a crest that allows him to break everything, and it’s always on accident, but he’s always much more careful around people. Or at least Felix has seen that, he thinks that the prince is probably worried about hurting them. 

It’s sweet. 

The moment is ruined once his father and brother enter the courtyard — the way that Felix should have instead of taking a detour — and hog all of his best friend’s attention with pats to the head, questions like ‘ _ how is your father doing? Is Lambert in his office? _ ’ to ‘ _ how are you doing rascal? How has training been?’  _ and straight up chatter. Boring. 

At least he’s with Dimitri now, and when the boy notices how bored he seems to be getting, he excuses himself. Dimi takes Felix’s hand, and they run off towards the prince’s room. The whole time, which is less than five minutes but to the youngest Fraldarius it feels like eternity, the boy talks his ear off about all the things he has gotten to do during the time they hadn’t seen each other. 

Dimitri tells him about the rabbit he found in castle grounds and kept for about a week before his father told him the animal’s home was the forest. He talks about the new book that he has read, some cheesy couple thing or at least that’s what Felix understood. He talks about Ingrid and Sylvain (and, without looking back at Felix, whispers about how he’s worried about both of their home situations) and about his father, his stepmother. Dimitri talks endlessly. 

Felix may sound annoyed at his friend with hair of lemon, but he isn’t. 

He’s delighted. 

* * *

Felix knew that the only reason they had come to the capital was for the ball organized by the royal line, in order to celebrate this or that about new alliances, wars won, or something else, Felix didn’t care. He also knew it was the reason all of his friends were able to gather together, even if he hated having to endure Sylvain’s teasing about him being short. 

However, that didn’t mean that he was pleased when the maid called upon them and interrupted their little game. (Knights, Princess and Dragon. It had been his turn to be the princess while Sylvain was the dragon, and the pair of blondes had to rescue him). He was even more annoyed at how their interruption was only so that they could dress them all in stuffy clothes — except for Sylvain, he never let anyone get him dress. 

His complaining didn’t change the fact that he was now standing right next to his father, who, in turn, had to stand next to the king as he gave some sappy speech about whatever it was that they were celebrating. The only upside about the whole thing was that he go to be next to Dimitri, but it wasn’t as if they could start playing right there and then because their parents would get mad. 

It sucked.

Just when he was about to fall asleep right in his spot, the crowd around them began clapping, snapping him out of his stupor. It seemed like the speech from the king was over, since people soon started to chat and the music echoed across the place. Those things had been enough of a giveaway that boredom was over, but he did not dislike the hand that suddenly wrapped around his wrist and pulled him forward. 

Dimi turned back at him and smiled as they walked to the center of the room. It was a smile that wasn’t as bright as the one he usually had on his face, it made Felix worry, and then he noticed that his friend’s hand was shaking. Was he hurt? Was he sick? 

He was so caught up in his worry that he didn’t notice that the prince had stopped, and collided right into his side. He groaned and felt the corner of his lips turn downwards as soon as he heard the blond laugh, it wasn’t funny. But at least if Dimi was laughing now, it meant he wasn’t sick, right?

“Are you okay, Fe?” The prince asked, and Felix nodded. His nose hurt, but not too much. Dimitri seemed relieved to know that though, if his sigh was any indication. But he was acting odd again, rocking himself back and forth on his own feet until he sighed and took Felix’s other hand with his own. 

“Spit it out, Dimi.” He said as soon as the blond turned to look at him, and pointedly ignored how his friend’s eyes widened at his words. Glenn said it all the time.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Fe. I kept you waiting, didn’t I?” Dimitri laughed slowly and cautiously, as if he was apologizing to King Lambert after accidentally breaking another tea set. He took a deep breath before he talked again. “D-Do you want to dance, Fe?”

Seriously?

Dimitri was acting all weird about this? Felix had been worried! 

Actually, he should still be worried. It’s in that second that the young Fraldarius remembers something extremely important, and like the great friend he is, he says it. “But I don’t know how to dance, Dimi… What if I make us trip?”

The prince tilts his head, as if confused, before he’s laughing and shaking his head. “That won’t happen, Fe! You’re better than that!” 

There’s a pause, and for a moment Felix thinks that Dimitri is about to go back on his opinion, before the blond opens his mouth again. “Plus, I can teach you.”

Huh. If that’s the case, Dimi’s idea is great.

Felix smiles and nods, and Dimitri makes him grab the blond by the shoulders while his hands go around his waist, as if they’re about to hug. 

Later, his brother would tell him that the prince of Faerghus and the second heir of Fraldarius looked like ducklings getting their bearings, Sylvain would mock Dimitri for not being able to twirl Felix around like he had Ingrid and he would overhear King Lambert making some kind of inside joke with his father; but things like that didn’t matter to Felix. 

He and Dimitri were lost in their own little bubble, having as much fun as they could. He would never forget the way the prince had smiled at him during their clumsy waltz. 

This was one of the happiest moments of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my only excuse is school and other projects and even that isnt enough. im. so sorry.

Many years pass before he gets to repeat a moment like that with Dimitri.

That doesn’t mean that they didn’t get to see each other in between. On the contrary, with Glenn’s training as a knight and his studies in the capital, Felix travels constantly to Fhirdiad, and ends up seeing his best friend even more than Sylvain. Maybe he sees Dimitri even more than Ingrid who constantly visits Fraldarius.

The fact that Glenn is named as a Royal Guard — only at age fifteen, which according to everyone, is something extremely important. Felix can’t see it, he doesn’t want anything to do with knights — doesn’t change a thing. If anyone else was appointed, then surely meeting with Dimitri would be awkward, they wouldn’t feel comfortable joking or playing around, even asking Glenn to be the evil wizard in their games sometimes. 

He lives those days in bliss, content with spending time with his friends and looking forward to the weekly letters his brother writes him from the capital — which would shock his father with the amount of curses they have, but Felix doesn’t care. He’s happy to hear from Glenn. 

At age thirteen he learns that life will never be how someone would like it to be. 

Felix could never forget that day. It was raining, pouring so hard that he could hardly see the shapes of trees outside his window. His friends were supposed to be coming over today, but due to the wheater, he hardly thought that would be the case. His father wasn’t home. In fact, he had left in quite a hurry after a soldier had rushed to him, a few hours before. Just like that, he was alone. 

It was almost dusk. The rain had gone down enough, and so he was both able to see and hear the hooves of hundreds of horses and the wheels of a carriage pounding on the ground. Felix hadn’t even noticed they were gone, but the soldiers from their territory were returning, his father and his uncle leading most of them. The army seemed to be damaged, if the broken armor or scorch marks he could barely spot out were any indication. 

Did they encounter a wild dragon or something?

It only took him another second, time the troops used to move closer, to see that his father’s clothes were covered in blood. 

Before he truly thought about it, he was running out of his room. The clash that the front door made against the wall once he exited his house got the troop’s, plus his father’s attention — if he had been looking anywhere else but at his father, maybe he would have noticed how every soldier raised their weapons before realizing it was only their leader’s child. But he didn’t notice. 

“Father!” He practically yelled once he was standing right next to the man’s horse, uncaring if the rain started soaking his clothes and hair. His sight was fixed on his dad, carefully looking over every corner of skin visible, it didn’t look like he had any visible wounds, and the blood he had spotted before on his clothes was dry. Then… “Father! What happened?!” 

The old man didn’t respond immediately, simply stared at him as if he was lost in thought, as if he was watching something else that Felix couldn’t decipher right before his eyes. It felt like an eternity before the Duke hopped of his horse and sighed. 

Now he wasn’t even looking at his own son. “Felix… There was a battle. Everyone from the royal line but Prince Dimitri were assassinated.” The first news make him feel as if a bucket of cold water has been dumped over his head, but what his father says next makes him feel worse. “And your brother… Glenn…” 

His father’s sight deviates from the ground to a black carriage stationed right behind him, and it takes everything in Felix’s willpower to ignore the meaning of that simple action. He knows what black carriages mean, he knows what kind of things they transport, but it can’t be, 

Glenn was always stronger than him. Felix was always weaker. Mother was sick when he came into the family and in response, Glenn said that he would always be there to protect his little brother. He had to be alive. He just had to. 

“Is he in there?” He asks, not really waiting for a reply as he heads towards the carriage, uncaring of the mud that sticks to his shoes, Arms wrap around him before he can move much further, and even if he struggles and protests for him to be released, his father doesn’t let him go. 

He’s placed right where he had been a moment ago, next to Rodrigue, and the same hands that grabbed him are now touching his shoulders. His father leans to stare at him right in the eye, and Felix can’t help but glare at him. 

“Felix,” the old man starts, meeting the glare with a resigned look, and then he’s looking away again. Whatever he wants to say, it’s taking a toll on him, or maybe he just doesn’t have the spine to say it. “Felix. Glenn is dead.”

And just like that, it’s as if someone has just punched him in the gut. His eyes widen, he holds his breath longer than necessary, and his sight wanders back and forth between the black carriage and the man in front of him. 

A startled laugh is ripped from his throat, and Felix can only shake his head. “No, no… No. Father, that’s a sick joke.”

The old man mirrored him by shaking his head and the expression he made was one of the saddest his son had ever seen on him. “Felix. He died protecting the King, protecting Prince Dimitri.” A slight smile breaks through his father’s expression, but he doesn’t understand what’s there to be happy about. His  _ son _ is dead.. 

“Felix. Glenn died like a true knight.”

What.

_ No. _

He hates that he’s going through so many emotions at once, but those words, inconsiderate ones, stupid ones, just have him boiling with anger. That feeling overcoming everything else. 

He swats away the hands on his shoulders and glares once again at the man that raised him. “You don’t get to say that. You can’t say that. You’re not stupid enough to say that.” One moment he’s pushing away his father, and the next thing he knows is that his fist has collided with the man’s cheek. “Are you proud he was fucking sent to die?!” And his other fist is hitting an arm. “ It was his fucking life, not yours, old man! You don’t know anything about the dreams he had!”

“Felix!” Once again, arms wrap around him, and this time the teen has to struggle against his uncle. 

“Let me go!” His demand falls on deaf ears. He is dragged back to his house, kicking and screaming, stops resisting once he reaches his room. He vaguely notices a servant, or perhaps his uncle, place a warm cup of tea on the table next to his bed before he’s left alone. 

The rain stops hitting his window, it stops entirely until clouds part to reveal stars. Felx doesn’t care about any of that. All he can see is the way his father looked when he told him Glenn was dead, all he can see is the black carriage, but he can’t see the man he looked up to, the one who was stronger than any of them. fell to an enemy and bleeding to his death in battle. 

He can’t see it. He can’t imagine it. He cries himself to sleep in frustration. 

* * *

Traditions are rarely broken in Fargheus. Perhaps it had to do with how many of them had been established during the Kingdom’s first years of prosperity; right after their independence from the Empire, and the descendants love for their cherished ancestors. People who had fought to ensure a brighter future. Or perhaps it has something more to do with how people were offset by change. 

Felix wished it wasn’t uncommon for some traditions to be broken. Like the one that said kids should be praised for fighting wars. 

Losing their lives.

Or perhaps the way burials in Fargheus were too short, a simple moment of digging a hole for a casket and forgetting about it over the next few days. The Kingdom’s people were big on mourning. Assholes. 

Felix hated that the way a knight was to be buried was different, with their body resting with their family and the weapon they had used being taken to the capital. When he was younger, an exasperated Rodrigue had told him it was so the people would remember the valiant efforts done during the soldier’s life, so that the citizens would remember the knight themselves, but Felix thought that was just a bunch of bullshit.

However, that didn’t stop his father from doing exactly as tradition dictated, and his only kid had no say on it — In fact, at that point he wasn’t even aware that there was no body to bury in their territory. Felix had no time to mourn, and he was dragged to the capital only an hour or so after he saw his brother’s casket was covered by dirt. 

He supposed the one good thing to come out would be seeing Dimitri. And Felix felt incredibly selfish, but he found solace knowing that he had not been the only one affected by this incident. Even if his friend had lost much more than just a brother. 

* * *

Dimitri doesn’t look good. In fact, Felix doesn’t think there was ever a time when the prince looked worse than he did right now. 

His head is covered in bandages, so much of them that they barely let the golden locks of his hair through the gaps, and his friend is rendered blind by them. The rest of his body, or what Felix can see anyway, is covered in a similar fashion; the only thing peeking from below being a few yellow and purple bruises. 

He wants revenge.

More than anything, he wants to protect the ones he cherishes and he can’t do that if he’s not strong. He can’t be like his brother and fail his promises; he will have to train endlessly, always be one step ahead of the enemy.

But at the moment none of what he wants is possible. He can’t and won’t leave his friend alone when he needs him, even if Dimitri is just laying on his bed, motionless. Honestly if it weren’t for the constant rise of his chest, Felix would think the prince was dead. 

Felix can’t explain how wrong that feels to him. It’s too different from the Dimitri that would smile at him while they trained, the one who would laugh and extend his hand towards the raven’s fallen tired form after he had beat him in a duel. He just want to see a smile like that on his face again. 

His train of thought is interrupted as he sees the blond sit up in his bed, and he seems well enough that he does not wobble nor complain. It gives Felix an idea on what he could do to cheer his friend up. 

“Dimitri.” The mention of his name has the blond gently tilt his head until he’s facing Felix’s general direction. At least his other senses work perfectly, maybe. Without waiting for more, the boy continues. “If you feel well enough, perhaps we could… uh… dance? Like we used to when we were kids…”

This is so embarrassing for him, and the silence that fills the room after his words isn’t pleasant either. 

Once again, one of their voices breaks the void of noise. “Are you sure it’s okay for us to do that?” Dimitri scoots to the side of the bed, bare feet touching the ground and he seems to be able to hold himself in balance. Doesn’t stop Felix from stand up and holding his arm, just in case. 

Nobody, nor anything, could stop Felix from caring and taking care of his best friend.

(Even when his best friend was completely able to take care of himself, judging by how strong he was. Dimitri had been breaking spoons ever since they were little, he could without a doubt beat someone in battle, or maybe multiple people, without a sweat). 

Felix shrugs, but still make his thoughts known, “Does it really matter? It’s not like anyone could complain if it was only once, and to cheer you up!” By the end of his little sentence, he had already wrapped his arms around Dimitri’s waist and begun swaying.

They’re once again surrounded by silent, and even if it’s a comfortable one, he still feels as if something is missing. Something he can’t quite put a finger on, and then it clicks. 

Music. 

But there was no way to have a violin in here, nor to even drag someone in the beginning, and Felix wasn’t a miracle worker, so…

So. Felix hums. He fumbles around with the sound of an old lullaby his mother would sing, with the sounds he vaguely remembers from other balls, from the first party he and Dimitri danced in. It makes the moment full of life, and Felix feels as if he forgets all the pain that he’s gone through in only a few hours. 

Dimitri laughs, and for a second everything is perfect. “Thank you so much for doing this for me, Glenn.” The second was over now.

His best friend saying the name of his brother shouldn’t have affected him like this, as if a cold bucket of water was just dumped all over himself. Dimitri thought Felix was Glenn. In any other moment, the comment wouldn’t have hurt. Dimitri didn’t know who he was. In any other moment, his brother wouldn’t be  _ dead _ , his father wouldn’t be such a senseless asshole, and his best friend wouldn’t have had to deal with the amount of tragedy that he was. Glenn was dead.

This was not any other moment, Felix was unlucky enough for this to be the reality he lived in.

So he didn’t bother to stop the tears rolling down his eyes as he blurted out a simple “you’re welcome, Dimi.” No more humming came from him.

Nobody told him that would the last time he saw his friend. Nobody had let him know his best friend would be ripped apart by a beast, replaced with a boar. He wasn’t ready for that. To fear for his life as Dimitri ripped enemy after enemy when they retaliated against Duscur.

Nobody had told him the rest of his friends wouldn’t believe Felix when he told them to stay away from a beast. 

He was only trying to protect them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it'll get happier eventually.   
> i think.


End file.
